BLACKSBURG, Va. -- It was a bone-soaking rain. All day it drummed down from the gray sky. Mist filled the Blue Ridge hollows and shrouded the mountains and, by the fourth quarter, seeped inside Lane Stadium.

It was so wet you could wring out your eyelashes.

And in losing, resoundingly, to Virginia Tech 31-7, the University of Miami looked like it was drowning in the downpour. The Canes dropped passes. They let Hokies runners slide out of their grasp. They tripped and slipped.

They regressed.

UM's No. 9 national ranking disappeared in that mist Saturday afternoon.

The huge step forward sank in the squishy grass.

This didn't resemble the same offensive machine and defensive vise that enabled them to win two in a row against ranked opponents.

The tone was set on UM's fifth play, when Virginia Tech's Dorian Porch barreled through the offensive line and slammed into quarterback Jacory Harris, forcing a fumble. The 11th-ranked Hokies capitalized with the first of four touchdowns.

The harassment continued. At one point, a usually unflappable Harris kicked the turf in frustration and water splashed up, like he had stomped in a puddle. It was that kind of game for Harris, who threw for only 150 yards after amassing 656 in the first two games. He was sacked three times and five passes were flicked away by Tech defenders.

Another snapshot: UM linebacker Colin McCarthy made a dive for -- and missed -- Ryan Williams at the goal line. McCarthy rolled over and landed in a sitting position. He sat for several seconds on the sodden field, disgusted, flabbergasted.

It was a nice day for salamanders slithering along the Appalachian Trail -- and for poncho-wearing Hokies fans -- but not for the Hurricanes.

UM had zoomed from nowhere to No. 9 and was embraced as the darling of college football. But it was as if the Hurricanes flew to high altitude and suddenly ran out of oxygen.

Like Jimmy Graham, who could not hold onto two crucial passes in the third quarter, UM would like to rewind and start the game over.

``I can still see the ball right there,'' Graham said, solemnly.

Last week against Georgia Tech, he was one of the heroes, catching the first touchdown pass of his new career as a football player. He was a UM basketball power forward for four seasons.

``That's college sports -- to be on the ultimate high and then on the ultimate low,'' he said. ``It's what men are made of -- how you bounce back.''

To a man, the Hurricanes took responsibility for getting beat. If any good came out of this rout, it was their courage to speak the brutal truth. They didn't blame Graham, the weather or the noise. They blamed themselves.

``They hit us and I wish we had hit them back a little harder,'' Jason Fox said.

Among the alarming statistics: UM converted only 1 of 11 third-down plays. UM got to the red zone just twice. Tech gained 272 yards rushing, one week after UM held Georgia Tech to 95 yards rushing.

``Their ability to run the ball was the difference, point blank, period,'' Chavez Grant said.

Harris did not look like the quarterback who ranked third nationally in passing efficiency and was hearing Heisman hype. He consistently underthrew receivers.

Harris called the performance ``unacceptable.'' On one of the pass breakups he said he didn't put enough velocity on the ball. He said he missed reads. He said he didn't fulfill his responsibility to ``keep things in order.'' He's only a sophomore but a born leader.

``I don't ever blame my receivers,'' Harris said. ``Maybe I've got to make better throws . . . put it in his chest when it's wet.''

Saturday's result was in keeping with the jumbled state of college football. Coach Randy Shannon will tell his players UM is 2-1 in what was supposed to be deadly four-game stretch. No. 10 Oklahoma is coming to Miami next Saturday.

UM can look at this loss the same way Graham and Harris are regarding those two drops.

``Just a lack of concentration,'' Graham said. ``Jacory told me `I'm going to keep coming to you.'

We've been given three opportunities and next week is another one.''

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